#Basic Photography, Natural Light
How to Master Natural Light Portraiture
By: Kevin Landwer-Johan
I love working with natural light, I always have. Even more so now
that our digital cameras have sensors so incredibly capable of making
images in extremely low light. Making portraits using natural light only
is a good skill to learn so you can make photographs anywhere. Here are
some tips to help you mast nature light portraiture.
Be aware of the quality of light
When you want to make a series of portraits using only natural light,
you first need to be aware of what the light is like at your chosen
location and the style of portrait you want to make. Is the quality of light hard or soft?
If it’s a bright sunny day and the light is harsh (hard), you will
get portraits with a much different look and feel, than if the sky is
cloudy and overcast. Morning and evening light will give your portraits a
different quality (soft light) as will photographing your subject
indoors and using light from a window.
Soft side light from a window.
Hard sunlight can be quite challenging to work with, but can produce
some good results if you style you portrait well. If you’re working in
open sun it can be helpful to have a reflector on hand and a friend to assist you so dark shadows can be reduced.
What kind of photo do you want?
Having a concept in mind for the type of photo you want will give you
a better chance of success. If you’re heading out to make some
portraits on a sunny day and have an idea of making some soft dreamy
romantic photos, this will be difficult. But if you want to make some
photos to illustrate the idea of a journey in a hot country the light
will be your friend and support your idea.
Bight, harsh sun in the middle of the day.
Cloudy days provide a soft light that’s generally easier to get a
more even exposure. The flat light tends to render a softer feeling to
portraits.
So if you’re making portraits with natural light on a cloudy day, you
will have more success if your concept is for a gentler look. Photos
taken under a cloudy sky and later converted to black and white work
well as the tone range will be more limited than on a sunny day.
Portraits on a cloudy day.
Use light to your advantage
If the sky is heavily overcast you will find it challenging as the
light will be very dull. On days when there’s not such thick cloud you
will notice the light is still soft, but brighter and more vibrant (less
flat,) so nicer for making portraits. Be careful of your exposure
settings if the clouds are moving and the light value is frequently
changing.
Finding a shaded space and making use of naturally reflected light
will help you achieve a different look on a bright sunny day. This is
not the same as the light you have on a cloudy day. Light reflecting off
a wall close by or light-toned pavement, (cement rather than asphalt or
dark paving,) will fill in shadows on your subject’s face and produce a
more even, lively result.
Light reflecting off a nearby white wall provided fill light for this portrait.
Placing your subject so they are slightly inside a shaded area, but
close to the bright sun,
can allow the reflection of the sunshine to
have a very helpful effect in lighting your subject.
So long as your
subject is not too far away from the bright light you can make use of
the
reflection to add a more interesting dynamic to your portraits.
The Golden Hours
Of course, making portraits with the rich morning or evening sunshine
(often called
Golden Hours), or even subdued light can produce very
pleasing portraits. Be careful
though not to have your subject look
directly ahead into the sun as they will typically
make an unpleasant
face. Backlighting or side lighting your subject at these times can
be
more effective and more comfortable for your subject. Diffused morning
and evening
light is lovely to work with as it is soft yet can still be
quite rich and warm toned.
Diffused early evening light.
Try new things
I’ve loved making natural light portraits for many years, but I also
enjoy developing
my technique by trying new ways of working. If you
enjoy a particular aspect of
photography, stick with it, develop what
you do. But don’t just do the same thing
every time.
If you like making portraits in natural light on a cloudy day because
you find it
easier, sometimes try shooting on a sunny day. Stretch
yourself to learn some new
technique. You may discover something new, a
new way ot working that you really
enjoy.
Portable natural light studio
I have a portable natural light studio I love to take into the
mountain villages here
in northern Thailand. We’ve even started
including it in some of the workshops we
run and our customers love the
professional looking results they can achieve. My
outdoor studio only
requires that we have space to set it up, (just a few square meters
is
enough,) and a sunny day for the best light, but I do use it on cloudy
days too.
The best thing about it is having control over how the sun lights my
subjects. I set it up
so the sun is behind the backdrop. Above the
backdrop is a fine gray nylon screen to
filter the sunlight. The light
reflects off the ground which is a light colored earth and
works well
with Asian skin tones, or a large plastic sheet. I have more recently
introduced
a large reflector too and am achieving some very pleasing
results.
The
light coming from behind the backdrop is providing great light on these
subjects’ hair
as a rim light, and on their faces via reflected light.
The portable studio behind the scenes.
Your turn to try it
Next time you head out to make some portraits try something different
with the light. If
you prefer sunshine, make some in the shade as well.
If you prefer a cloudy day challenge
yourself to go out in the middle
of the day when the sun is shining and find a location where
you have
some good light. Remember, the only time you cannot make a photo is when
there
is no light at all.
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